1973’s Papillon, starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman is undoubtedly a classic, but one that suprisingly few people have seen. However, Hollywood is hoping people will be happy to show up for a remake, which sees Charlie Hunnam and Rami Malek take over the central roles.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘Based on the international best-selling autobiographic books “Papillon” and “Banco”, the film follows the epic story of Henri “Papillon” Charrière (Charlie Hunnam), a safecracker from the Parisian underworld who is framed for murder and condemned to life in the notorious penal colony on Devil’s Island. Determined to regain his freedom, Papillon forms an unlikely alliance with a convicted counterfeiter Louis Dega (Rami Malek), who in exchange for protection, agrees to finance Papillon’s escape.’

The film will be in US cinemas in August. No UK release date has currently been announced. Take a look at the first trailer below. [Read more…]

Now the first teaser trailer and poster is here, so we can get a feel for the long-gestating movie.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY is a foot-stomping celebration of Queen, their music and their extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury, who defied stereotypes and shattered convention to become one of the most beloved entertainers on the planet.

‘The film traces the meteoric rise of the band through their iconic songs and revolutionary sound, their near-implosion as Mercury’s lifestyle spirals out of control, and their triumphant reunion on the eve of Live Aid, where Mercury, facing a life-threatening illness, leads the band in one of the greatest performances in the history of rock music. In the process, cementing the legacy of a band that were always more like a family, and who continue to inspire outsiders, dreamers and music lovers to this day.’

There was surprising news last week when it was revealed that filming on the upcoming biopic of the band Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody, had been put on hold after director Bryan Singer failed to return from a Thanksgiving hiatus. 20th Century Fox said it was due to Singer’s ‘unexpected availability’, while the director said it was due to unspecified health issues.

Now things have taken a further turn, as Fox has fired Singer from the movie, and also closed the offices of his production company on their LA studio lot. He has had a long relationship with the studio, having directed four X-Men movies for them.

The firing comes amidst reports that the post-Thanksgiving absence wasn’t the first time he’d been absent from the Bohemian Rhapsody set, with director of photography Newton Thomas Sigel stepping in to cover for him. Singer’s behaviour and constant lateness also allegedly caused major friction with the cast, resulting in a major bust-up (and later reconciliation) with lead actor Rami Malek, who’s playing Freddie Mercury. It’s been suggested Malek and his representatives went as far as to officially approach the studio about what they felt was Singer’s lack of professionalism. That resulted in representatives from the Directors Guild of America and the studio heading to the set to monitor the situation. There are also reports that the fellow actor Tom Hollander walked from the film due to Singer, but was then convinced to return to the set.

It’s said this isn’t the first time Fox has had issues with Singer and his time-keeping, with suggestions that the studio even had a specific meeting with the director before he headed to London to film Bohemian Rhapsody to tell him they wouldn’t tolerate any erratic behaviour.

The director has hit back saying that his firing was unreasonable as he’d failed to return from the Thansgiving break as he needed to help look after a seriously ill parent, and that the studio had refused. He’s released a statement, via THR, saying, “Bohemian Rhapsody is a passion project of mine. With fewer than three weeks to shoot remaining, I asked Fox for some time off so I could return to the U.S. to deal with pressing health matters concerning one of my parents. This was a very taxing experience, which ultimately took a serious toll on my own health. Unfortunately, the studio was unwilling to accommodate me and terminated my services. This was not my decision and it was beyond my control.

“Rumors that my unexpected departure from the film was sparked by a dispute I had with Rami Malek are not true. While, at times, we did have creative differences on set, Rami and I successfully put those differences behind us and continued to work on the film together until just prior to Thanksgiving.”

Fox has said they hope to hire a new director shortly and complete filming on the movie as soon as possible. The plan is still to release the film around Christmas 2018.

It’s only in the last few days that we’ve learned who would be starring alongside Rami Malek in the planned biopic of the rock band Queen, titled Bohemian Rhapsody, and now we’ve got our first look at Malek as Freddie Mercury in the movie (click on the image above for a larger version). And it has to be said, the Mr. Robot star is a far better fit for the music legend than some said he might be.

The image debuted over at EW, who also confirm that ‘the Bryan Singer-directed film…chronicles Queen from 1970, when Mercury teamed with Brian May and Roger Taylor, until the band’s performance at Live Aid in 1985, six years before the singer died of complications from AIDS.’

That time frame is partly because of a desire to honour the music (the other members of Queen are involved in the film, and probably didn’t want it to become just about Freddie and his untimely death). Singer says, “It won’t just be the dark Freddie story, but that being said, that also will be honored. It’s about collaboration. It’s a celebration.” He also adds that it won’t be a “traditional biopic”.

As for the music, it will apparently be a blend of Malek’s own vocals and those of the real Mercury. The actors says, “We’re going to use Freddie as much as possible and use myself as much as possible. I’m in Abbey Road [Studios] right now if that should say anything to you. I’m not working on my acting.”

Bohemian Rhapsody, which also stars Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor, Joe Mazello as John Deacon and Gwilym Lee as Brian May, is set for a Christmas 2018 release.

The 1973 classic Papillon is getting a remake, with Charlie Hunnam attaching himself a while back to the role originally played by Steve McQueen. Now we know who should be replacing Dustin Hoffman, as THR reports that Rami Malek has signed on for the movie.

The original is about ‘Henri “Papillon” Charriere (McQueen), who is unjustly convicted of murder in 1930s France and condemned to life in a notorious island prison. En route, Papillon meets a quirky convicted counterfeiter named Louis Dega (Hoffman). In exchange for protection, Dega agrees to finance Papillon’s prison escape, ultimately resulting in a lasting friendship.’

Michael Noer is set to direct the movie from a script Aaron Guzikowski (Prisoners). It’s not clear when it might start shooting.